The present invention relates to child restraint seats for use in vehicles, and, more particularly to child restraint seats that provide a means for more comfortably seating and more safely seating a child as the child grows too large for the conventional child seat. Many child restraint seats available are manufactured to provide adequate restraint for smaller children. As children age, there is a transition period in which a conventional child restraint seat becomes too small, and, concurrently the standard restraint systems in automobiles do not provide an adequate restraint system because the child is yet too small.
To cure this inadequacy, there are currently adjustable child restraint seats available. Though these seats offer adequate restraint and comfort to the child, the caregiver has a difficult and confusing task of preparing and re-preparing the seat as the child grows. For most currently available adjustable child restraint seats, the caregiver must couple a restraint harness through a pair of shoulder belt receiving apertures in the restrain seat and then couple the restraint harness to the restraint seat. As the child grows, the caregiver must repeat this several times, removing the restraint harness, rethreading the harness through the restraint seat and couple the restraint harness to the restraint seat. This often results in the caregiver becoming confused and irritated. Previous patents disclose a seating apparatus with aforesaid adjustable restraint mechanism, namely, U.S. Pat. No. 5,899,534, which discloses a child restraint seat with multiple slots through which a restraint harness may be passed, thus allowing adjustable restraint of a child.
Also, there are adjustable restraint seats available by which the shoulder harness may be adjusted by means of a slot panel and anchor point model attached to the back of the restraint seat. However, the caregiver must reach behind the restraint seat to adjust the shoulder restraint, an uncomfortable task for the caregiver. Previous patents disclose a seating apparatus with aforesaid adjustable restraint mechanism, namely, U.S. Pat. No. 6,030,047, which discloses an adjustable restraint mechanism using a harness panel in combination with a slot panel and an anchor-point shaft that is only accessible from the back of the seat.
Accordingly, it can be seen that there is a need for an apparatus to overcome the problems enumerated above relating to adjustable restraint-harness seating. It is to these objectives that the present invention is directed. The present invention provides the child with a comfortable and secure seat, while providing the caregiver with the comfort and ease of being able to conveniently adjust the restraint system from the front of the restraint seat.
Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to provide a secure and comfortable child restraint seat that has an adjustable restraint mechanism which is easily adjustable from the from of the seat, thereby resolving the caregiver of the hassle and confusion of reaching behind the seat to adjust the restraint mechanism. Child restraint seats are most often developed so that the back of the child seat rests against the back seat of a automobile. This presents a problem when a caregiver wants to adjust the restraint mechanism. The caregiver must unsecure the child seat from automobile, flip the seat around, adjust the restraint mechanism, and re-secure the child seat to the automobile seat.
The present invention allows the caregiver to adjust the restraint mechanism of the child seat in two-simple steps. The caregiver must only, 1) press the anchor-point shaft towards the seat-shell, and 2) slide the said shaft up or down a length of said top-seat portion, thus simultaneously allowing the caregiver to increase or decrease the height and space afforded by the restraint mechanism. Moreover and importantly, the present invention does not require a caregiver to uncomfortably reach behind the child seat to adjust the height of the restraint mechanism. As stated, this is done from the front of the seat.
The following description of the drawings and the preferred embodiment present the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived. Additional features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art.